I'm going to use a pressure cooker for the first time but I can't find any instructions on how to use it. Can anyone give me some detailed instructions on how to go about using a pressur cooker? Do I stack the jars or just leave them on the bottom of the pot? How much water do I use? Please, just any instructions you can give me would br great. Thanx
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safety first! 1.) check the seal ring on the canner to make sure its still good (im assuming you bought it used). its the black plastic ring on the inside of the lid. rn your finger along it, it shouldnt feel crackly or like really dried out rubber. if it does, or if its in any way misshapen or cracked or broken- you need a new one. 2.) check the steam release valve. im no sure if all canner have this, but mine does (i have one with a gauge, not weights). basically, its the little pipe where steam escapes from, that you put a cap on once the canner has evacuated the pressure within. hold the lid up to a light and make sure you can see thru this valve- there should be nothing blocking it. sometimes theres food or gunky buildup from steam that gets in there- if anything seems to be blocking the vent, use a little piece of wire to clean it out. if this gets blocked, the canner may not be able to release enough pressure at once. dangerous :) use next 1.) you can stack the jars. you should have a metal rack which lifts the jars from the bottom, put that in 1st. jars can crack from the heat. if you didnt get one, use a cloth or something to hold ALL the jars off the bottom of the canner. stack them as high as you can. but make sure none of the jars blaock the pressure release valves (the one you checked that was clean, and the black plastic overflow valve on the lid). just dont stack a jar directly underneath ANYWHERE pressure may escape. 2.) water, i use about 2" of water from the bottom of the 1st jar. (when theyre in the canner already). i have a very large canner so it uses more than most people use. 1-2" should be fine. 3.) put the jars in like above, turn the heat on to about med high-high, and wait til you see a stream of steam coming out of the pressure valve. itll be white and hot, dont touch it ::grin:: (can you tell i tried already?) when you see this line of steam, start timing. wait 15 minutes for the canner to push steam out in this manner, then put the weight on. (i dont know if its different when you have a canner with a weight as opposed to a canner with a gauge- i have a gauge and use a weight over the release valve, but dont know if this is the same when you use weights only). anyhow, once the weight is on- i turn the heat down to about med high til it reaches 15psi. then start timing- so if the recipe says can for 1 hr at 15 psi, dont start the timer until the canner has reached the 15psi mark. gluck- perhaps someone with a weight canner could answer more q's if thats the kind youve got. ive got a presto 22 qt.- if youve got the 17 or 22qt let me know and ill answer any q's you have direct from my instruction manual; its the same for both of them.
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